


Sweet Blood

by Nirshka



Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: AU where the hunter doesn't kill Gascoigne, Gen, I hope, and i swear i'll protect them with my life, he's good, in this AU Gascoigne isn't blind either, it's bloodborne after all, let the man suffer a bit less!, no daughters will be hurt in this fic, nor gascoigne for that matter, or is it the opposite??, the daughters make an appearance as well, the hunter babysits gascoigne now, there's some sadness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14211789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nirshka/pseuds/Nirshka
Summary: The Hunter arrives at Yharnam, but everything is not what he expected. Beasts and monsters all around. In the midst of chaos, the Hunter is given a request to find a kid's parents. The mother can't be saved anymore, but can the Father be redeemed?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happier endings for everyone, please! I'm trying to write bigger fics, so I'll be updating this one as much as I can!

“ _ If you find my mum, give her this music box. It plays one of daddy's favorite songs. And when daddy forgets us we play it for him so he remembers.” _

 

The mum was long gone before the good hunter arrived, but Gascoigne… that huge tower of a man was now standing before him, still obviously dazed and disoriented. 

When the hunter arrived at Oedon’s Tomb, Gascoigne was in a frenzy, several butchered bodies surrounded him and he was rambling on like a lunatic. Once he saw the hunter, without a word or pause, the giant charged at him. 

 

Remembering the child, the hunter took a defensive stance, hoping not to harm nor kill this man. Gascoigne was relentless, but the good hunter finally managed to dodge and keep enough distance from him to use the tiny music box, stored in his jacket. The music seemed to stop him for a bit, clutching his head and muttering to himself, almost like two parts of him were arguing, the sane and lucid one trying to take control of his body again. The mad side was stronger though, keeping the control on his mind. The third time the good hunter played the music, Gascoigne’s mind appeared to be lost forever as he turned into a frenzied beast. 

 

The hunter would not give up, he still believed he could save this man, who seemed to want to hide from his pain, choosing to give himself into beasthood in order to forget. A few more tries from the lullaby, every single time it played, the beast would slow down for longer until, at last, it dropped to its knees, in defeat. 

 

Slowly, Gascoigne turned back into his original form, his breathing came in ragged, clutching his head again, trying to get his thoughts in order and remember what happened the last minutes. The good hunter approached him, cautiously, “Here”, was all he said, handing the little music box back, “She’s scared and waiting for you.”

The man still seemed to not be altogether yet, turning the box in his hands, examining it.

 

Leaving him to his thoughts, the hunter decided to take a closer look at the corpses around, there could be some loot. There’s a woman’s body nearby as well, wearing a red brooch.

 

_ “My mum wears a red jeweled brooch. It's so big and beautiful. You won't miss it.”, _ the good hunter recalls the girl saying. Deep sighing, he takes the jeweled brooch and leaves. He’s not sure if Gascoigne is responsible for her death, most likely the man was trying to protect his wife from the other lunatics but in his madness… it was possible. What a tragic family, but it could have had a more horrible ending.

 

Slow steps echo nearby the hunter, making him turn. Gascoigne seemed to hold himself together and approached slowly, there’s pain in his eyes, the good hunter notices.

 

“I… Viola… How could I…?”, Gascoigne falls to his knees again, clutching his wife’s body to him and crying in agony.

The hunter never really learned how to deal properly with grief, much else help someone else deal with it. He waits for a few minutes to let the man grieve and takes out the red brooch, handing it out to Gascoigne.

“Keep it, so you can remember her. Now come, the kid needs you and a safer place to be”

“How can I come back to them? You should’ve killed me.”

Them? Two kids then, although the hunter only talked with one of them.

“And leave them to the horrors of this city, leave them to die? Is that what you want?”

“What if the same happens to them?”, Gascoigne’s words faltered at the thought.

“Was it really you? Do you remember what happened?”, the good hunter asks back. It’s clear the man loves his family, there’s a chance Viola was already dead when he arrived.

“I….”, Gascoigne sighs, resigned. “No, it’s... it’s all a blur.”

“Then come.”

The hunter extends a hand to the priest, offering his help is all he can do for now. Besides a hunting partner could come in handy. Gascoigne stares at the hunter’s gloved hand and then back at Viola, making up his mind, he says his last goodbyes and accepts his hand.

“Thank you, good hunter, may I know your name?”

“Noah.”

“Father Gascoigne, former hunter. If you’re ever in need, please let me hunt with you, this city is full of traps and ambushes!”

“I would like that. But first, let’s take you and your kids to a safer place.”

The hunter notices Gascoigne’s hesitation as he stops in his tracks.

“We can find out what happened and I can help you if you want to. The kids don’t need to know what exactly happened yet. Let them grief their mother’s death for now and we can figure out the rest later.”

The priest seems to feel encouraged by the hunter’s words as he nods and starts walking again by the hunter’s side.

“Offering your help to random strangers in this town can be dangerous you know?”, he says, “Especially in a hunting night, you shouldn’t trust anyone.”

Noah looks up at the giant man as they walk and then back to the streets and shrugs.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve survived this far after all and death isn’t the end for me.”, the hunter lets out a long sigh, remembering all the excruciating deaths he suffered so far and all the dangers he had to memorize in order to avoid them. He sighs again, “What a long night!”

Gascoigne laughs, “Ah boy...it has merely begun!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

 

 

The apartment is rather small but comfortably furnished. Noah stands by the entrance hall, not wanting to disrupt the clean and warm environment. His clothes are to be forever bloodied and the hunter has accepted that fate, which makes him feel even more out of place in this family’s apartment.

 

The house wasn’t luxurious, but it was plain that Gascoigne’s family lived comfortably. From here, the hunter could see part of the living room, two blood red velvet armchair accompanied by a dim light lamp in the middle, some books lay beside one of the chairs and adorning the floor, a big rug, with golden curly patterns.

 

The hall, where the hunter was standing, had some incense burning, to help keep the beasts at bay, there was a coat hanger right beside him and the walls were adorned by some paintings, including a family portrait, very simply painted but you could tell it was painted with love. In it, the two girls were painted in the front, one taller than the other, the youngest held a small doll, with a white dress and white ribbon, just like the girls, so one could assume the doll was made after their likeness. Behind them, a middle-aged, but very beautiful woman, her dark, long hair pinned with a red adornment, a simple, dark blue dress and in her chest a red jeweled brooch. Her face was lovingly turned to the man by her side, at least one head taller than her. He too looked down at his wife and both were painted with shy, loving smiles. Upon close inspection, Noah noticed the signature in the bottom, that could read the name  _ Viola _ . It was an endearing painting and hunter’s chest tightened slightly at the view of such a loving family.

 

Noah never got to experience that. In his house, there was mostly shouting, beatings and abuse, that’s why he ran the first chance he got. His father was an alcoholic, unemployed prick and his mother would leave every night, prostituting herself to bring home any kind of money, but also addicted to the booze and wouldn’t hesitate to smack him if he happened to be in the way. Both the hunter and his older brothers left the place sooner or later. Noah made certain to get far away from his hometown, living off the streets mostly, mugging some poor bastard who would fail to notice him. It was only a few years later, that by chance, the hunter found his brother Jonas, whom he trusted. After leaving, the man managed to get a job as a shoemaker apprentice and now started his own business. Jonas hired him. He was 17 by then and was content enough as a shoemaker, it wasn’t something that he imagined doing, but it was a safe job and he could pay for a small room instead of sleeping in the streets.

If it weren’t for that blasted disease that started afflicting him, four years later, he could still be living this boring, but peaceful life. Chronic pain, the doctor called it. No cure for it, but the doctor knew of this miraculous city called Yharnam that could cure any disease! His brother begged him to come here and be cured. So he did. What a terrible idea.

 

Luckily, this is where his years on the streets paid off, or else the hunter would still be trying to get out of that clinic. If there’s something Noah was good at, was fighting and to his shame, he liked it. As much as he tried to get away from it, it seems like violence is in his blood and, oh, how it rushes from the adrenaline of it!

 

Arriving at this city, there was no cure to be found, only darkness and death. The pain still afflicts him from time to time, but the sweet special blood brewed by the Yharnamites makes it go away in a few seconds, leaving him exhilarated and pain-free for a good amount of time. Good thing he could find the vials almost anywhere! 

 

Upon appearing at the Hunter’s Dream for the first time, after dying from such an unfair fight against a beast, Noah didn’t think twice and accepted his weapons of choice, offered by the strange little critters and without even exploring the place some more, he went back to Yharnam for some real fight. He knew he’d be back there again. The streets of Yharnam weren’t unknown for him, he has never been there, but big, busy cities are all the same: labyrinthic, narrow streets, shortcuts only known by the street rats, so they can flee safely after mugging some poor passersby and of course, dark corners for shady business. This was the same, after some deaths, Noah got the whole map of the city up until that point where he met Gascoigne memorized. The fighting was hard, this was not the same as fighting rowdy kids back home, no. Here, there seemed to be only insanity around, everyone he found was out of his mind, sick and aggressive. But even so, not smart, so after some more painful deaths and a lot of that intoxicating blood, he managed to memorize the ways they move and learned to match them.

 

At some point, when returning to the Dream, the little doll near the bushes, and supposedly lifeless, approached him, offering her help to strengthen him, which he promptly accepted! Noah didn’t quite understand what in the hell was happening, but he would gladly take all the help he could get. From what the old man up in the workshop told him, that place used to be a safe haven for hunters, but why was he brought there? He was just trying to find some sort of miraculous cure for his pain and instead ended up some kind of weird beast hunter in an infected city! What a fucking irony! His brother wanted to send him into a city of miracles and instead, he ended up in hell on earth.

 

No matter, he would adapt to that, he always did and at least, he was good at this hunter business. He’d kill whatever he had to kill until he found his cure and go back home. Or so he thought. Time seems to stand still in this cursed town and, unplanned, Noah ended up meeting people and agreed to help them. What a mess. He shouldn’t have time for this.

 

The creaking sound of a door opening, accompanied by a soft cry, stirred the hunter from his thoughts, making him turn away from the painting and facing Gascoigne. Behind the man, two girls embraced each other, one of them turned her face to the door and noticing the hunter, cleaned her face and waved weakly at him. Noah took his hand out of his pocket and returned the wave and glanced back at their father.

 

“You seem to be safe enough here. I’ll go on my way now. I shall be back with some more incense to keep the beasts at bay.”, it made no sense for the hunter to stay here and he still needed to find the Healing Church.

“Want my help? I know my way around better than you.”, Gascoigne suggested weakly.

The man was visibly tired after all of the events he went through and the hunter couldn’t bear to let the kids alone and scared once again.

“Not now. Rest. The kids still need you. If I see myself in trouble, I’ll come to you.”

Noah was never fond of conversation, people often complained at how little words he would use and how somber he always was. Like an old man. He didn’t really care.

“Yes… You’re right, of course. Here.”, Gascoigne takes what looks like a key from his pocket, “It’s the key to open the gates near the tomb. You’ll need it if you wish to reach the Healing Church. Maybe you’ll find whatever answers you’re looking for.”

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, the hunter accepted the key, “I’m not even sure what my questions are. I was just looking to be cured.”

“Aaaah, weren’t we all, kid?”, he lets out a weak laugh, almost like he was mocking himself. Gascoigne waves dismissively at the hunter as he turns away, back to the living room.

 

In his turn, Noah inspects the key in his hands, it’s rather small and very fancy, full of tiny curls and flourishings. Tucking it into his pocket and without any other word, the hunter leaves the apartment. First, he’d go back to the dream and later, a new area and more monsters waited for him and his newfound thirst for blood.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunter goes back to Gascoigne's house. Turns out, the man plays housewife pretty well and will try to feed anyone who comes by!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A pretty chill chapter. Some more interactions between Noah and Gascoigne's daughters. I hope you enjoy!

The Dream looked the same. It always did. The doll awaits him at her usual place, but the old man isn’t at his. It doesn’t really matter, Noah can’t really put his finger on it, but there’s something about the old man that he doesn’t like.

As the doll promised, she somehow has the power to strengthen the hunter, but unfortunately lacks the skill to miraculously take his pain away. Finding the opportunity, Noah takes some time to power himself up.

“Where’s the old man?”, he asks.

“Wandering about. He can’t go far, good hunter, if you wish to find him, he’s most likely somewhere in the garden.”

“No. Not really, just curiosity. And you? Do you go anywhere else but here?”

“Me? Oh no, my place is here, I’ve never set foot outside of the dream.”

The hunter is a bit surprised by the answer, he never really thought about it, but surely a doll among Yharnam wouldn’t be the weirdest thing happening, but not the safest either.

“It’s not a very charming place, not at the moment at least! But would you like to?”

The doll looks at him, visibly confused as to what was he referring to.

“Yharnam, I mean, or anywhere else.”

“I wouldn’t know. I was made to serve you and others like you. The thought never crossed my mind.”, she seems to have encountered something new to mull over. Almost like the idea of want was new for her.

The hunter looks around him. The only way he knows to leave that place is through the morbid graves in the garden, but he isn’t sure everyone could use them, if the doll could, or if he could just drag her along if she wished to.

“Do others come by? More hunters, perhaps?”

“Only you. But there’s been others, in the past.”, the doll answers plainly, smiling at the hunter fondly.

What a damn mess. The thought seems to come to Noah more times than he wished. It seems that no matter how many questions he makes, he’ll get no clear answer. Only more questions. Fine then. He’d take one more shot of the sweet blood and get some rest, somewhere in the garden.

Later, the hunter couldn’t tell how long he slept, it was hard to understand time there. Did any time pass at all? He wouldn’t even spare the time to ask, it doesn’t really matter. The old man told him to kill beasts, so he would. Now… where to? Fumbling with his pockets, Noah finds the key Gascoigne gave him. It should open the big gate he saw when fighting Gascoigne. According to him, it should lead the hunter to the healing church, to answers.

First things first. He should stock up on more vials. Maybe some incense as well, to give to Gascoigne, so he and the girls stay safe. Yes, that’s it. Trembling in anticipation, the hunter traveled to the arena where he encountered the giant man, so he could trek all the way back, killing everything in his way. A tiny voice, on the back of his mind, warned him about how thirsty he became for blood, fighting, and killing. He’d heard what becomes of men who get addicted to it, he’d seen what happened to Gascoigne.

A beast… no longer human, no longer a man of his own thoughts and actions. Would it cure his pain though? Would he be willing to pay the price? Perhaps… he doesn’t really have people in his life. Merely his brother and he’d certainly forget about him sooner or later. Noah shakes his head violently, taking his mind out of such thoughts. He would not become a beast, he just likes punching things. Always had! Besides, the blood isn’t addictive, it’s just something to keep the pain at bay until he can leave this place.

Back to reality, he looks around, he killed anything he found, taking a few extra turns and making his trek a bit longer. From here, he could already see Gascoigne’s apartment. Before getting there, the hunter takes a last look through the contents of his pouch. He managed to get quite a lot of incense, blood vials and lots of other stuff. There was enough incense to last a week, at least, so it should be enough for now. He was set then, now to bring the supplies to the giant man and then the gate.

Noah suddenly stops in his tracks, then looks at himself. There’s sticky blood and even some bits of flesh all over his clothes. The hunter sighs deeply, clutching the bridge of his nose. It’s a good thing the dream, somehow, magically cleans all his shit whenever he gets there. But going there right now would be a hassle. Even if he did, he would come through enemies all over again and he’d end up bloody. Again. It doesn’t bother him anymore, but the kids… They don’t need to see this. They have enough horrors as it is. Noah decides to take his coat off, folding it, so only the inside could be seen, which was clean. His clothes were, fortunately, clean. Good to go.

“Back already?”, Gascoigne peaks from the other side of the door. His eyes look tired. “Can’t fend them off by yourself?”  
The hunter scoffs at the jest, “I think I’ve done pretty well so far. I’ve beaten you if I remember correctly.”  
Even though the man looks tired, he seems to have recovered some of his disposition. Not so gloomy has last time.  
“Ah! Cheap tricks, boy. In a fair fight, you would’ve lost your head.”  
“Let’s try that another time then. Will you let me enter? I brought some things for you and the girls. To keep you safe.”

Without a word, Gascoigne shuts the door on him, to, after some rattling, open it again, fully. The hunter entered the apartment, as awkwardly as before. It looked the same and very quiet. A quick look around and he couldn’t see the girls anywhere. Probably in their room playing.

“Come, boy, you can go past the hall you know?”, the hunter looks up to Gascoigne. The last thing he expected, was for this man to sound so… jovial!

“Oh… No, it’s fine! I just stopped by to give you some incense I found. It should last you for a week.”, he says as he takes out the items and hands it to Gascoigne.

“You didn’t need to... “, some of last night’s darkness seems to come back to his face, “I’ve caused you enough trouble. You don’t need to get out of your way to bring us incense.”

“It’s no bother. Better than having you getting lost again.”

Gascoigne sighs, helplessly. 

“I never know how to control it. Without Viola now… I’m afraid it might happen here and there’s nothing to stop me.”

The hunter looks to where the room he saw one of his daughters last night, then back at him.  
“I still have the music box. I will help. As long as you stay put, nothing will happen.”, he reassures, “Anyway, I’m leaving now. There’s much to do still, more beasts to kill.”

“Wait! I see you won’t accept my help in the hunt yet. May I offer you something else? Have you had something to eat yet?”

Noah simply shrugs. Not really. He hadn’t thought about food, in all honesty, since getting to this city. Just a bite here and there, but that was it.

“You look like a scrawny and pale street rat. Come, I’ll get you something to eat. Viola always said I could cook well and it seemed to relax me. The girls seem to love it as well. Let’s give you some breakfast.”

The hunter couldn't really do anything as he was pushed into a small kitchen, his coat was taken from his hands and a chair was offered to him. In defeat, he sat down, watching Gascoigne as he wandered around the kitchen, getting eggs, some bacon, and even some beans.

As the smell of cooking food intensifies, Noah realizes how hungry he was. His stomach started to make sounds, protesting against the treatment he’d been giving it. From the corner of his eyes, the hunter was able to glimpse some movement. It seemed like the smell of food, lured someone else from their hiding place.

Carefully, Noah turned to the little girl standing by the door. She kept still, not entirely sure she should be afraid or not. Behind her, a bit farther was her sister, older, but still very young. The hunter waved at them, with a small smile. The youngest, taking this gesture as a sign of peace, beamed up, with a big grin and ran to the table.

“I remember you, mister! You helped my dad! Thank you for bringing him back!”, she had a doll in her arms, clutching it to her chest.

Noah wasn’t entirely used to children. He didn’t mind them, just never spent much time with them. He looked back to the older sister, still suspicious of him, then back to the girl in front of him, “I’m always a man of my word. A damsel in distressed needs to be saved”

The girl giggled at this, “My name is Lily, like the flower! She’s Alice.”, she says, pointing at her sister, visibly annoyed by the revelation Lily just made, “What’s your name, mister?”

“Noah.”

“No-ah”, she says, pronouncing the name carefully, “I like it!”

Gascoigne was now approaching the table with several plates of food.

“Now, now Lily, have you washed your hands before getting to the table?”

Lily looks at her hands carefully and then brings them up before her father’s face, “All clean! Smell them, they smell like flowers!”

Gascoigne puts down the plates and gets closer to her. Checking her small hands, with exaggerated movements, making the girl laugh, “You’re right, they pass! You can eat. You can come as well, Alice, aren’t you hungry?”

The girl looks at the hunter, then back at her father. Biting her lower lip, she decides that her hunger is stronger than the suspicion against him.

“She isn’t too fond of strangers, don’t worry mister!”, Alice bumps into her sister and mumbles something the hunter couldn’t hear, in response, “Ow! It’s true! Noah is a friend, you don’t need to be mean!”

“Now, now girls, behave.”

The food was served and tasted delicious. Even though no one mentioned it, the hunter could still feel the sadness and mourning of the family. Everyone, but the eldest, was trying to make the best out of the circumstances. Even so, Noah felt welcomed and comfortable amidst the family. The little girl was unstoppable with her curiosity and answers, while Alice was still cautious, her eyes still red, probably from crying.

“Can you come visit us again, mist- I mean, Noah?”, after a while, the hunter asked her to call him by his name, since mister seemed too high a title for him, “I like talking with you and Alice hasn’t been one in the mood to talk, since… since last night.”

The girl’s eyes started to glow a little. Tears threatening to fall as she fought them back, “If you’ll have me, I will. Maybe even with some gifts.”

Lily’s face lightened up immediately, cleaning her eyes and smiling brightly to the hunter. Noah smiled back at her and turned to Gascoigne, “I should go now. Thank you for the meal.”

“Anytime, boy. Remember, if you need help, jus-”

“Yes, yes, I know. I will. Just… stay still, find other hobbies, cooking seems like a good one, while you wait!”

Once again, the hunter couldn’t be sure how long has passed since arriving Gascoigne’s house. He enjoyed it, more than he expected. Now it was time to work. Now it was time to go through that gate and meet the unknown.


End file.
